My Brother, My Sanity
by Soul Magic Collab
Summary: A lot of bad things have happened to Mokuba, so he goes literally insane. Hiding in a corner, he bites anyone who touches him. With help from Shadi, Seto goes inside Mokuba's soul and finds more than he expected there. (One-shot, Kaiba brotherly love.)


"My Brother, My Sanity"  
  
A One-Shot Fanfic by JessieHeart  
  
*  
  
Shadow games can destroy a person.  
  
Even adults are afraid of these games of shadow, for they prey on your very fear, making you so terrified that you can't even scream. But that's not the worse part. It's the Penalty game that gets you, robs you of your soul and of your sanity. Adults can't handle it, they scream into their darkened madness until their last breath is stripped away. And if an adult can't take it, what chance does a child have?  
  
Mokuba was eleven years old when he experienced his first Shadow game. Locked away in a dark capsule with hardly any air and no room to move… That was his fate. But he appeared to have recovered from it, he seemed to have a stronger soul than most. In reality, it was just another terrible thing to be stored in the back of his mind.  
  
However, the pile of horrible events grew larger. Numerous kidnappings, being shut away in dungeons, brainwashing, his brother's anger, death at every corner. All this and more before he was even thirteen.  
  
At long last, the boy cracked.  
  
The eve before his sanity left him was the anniversary of the day his parents died. That day was reserved annually for just the two Kaiba brothers. Seto would put his work aside and come home early. Then he would eat dinner with his little brother and they would just talk. But not this year.  
  
Around nine in the evening, Mokuba called Seto's office.  
  
"President Kaiba speaking," Seto answered professionally.  
  
"Seto, you're on your way home, right?"  
  
"Sorry kid, I'm swamped."  
  
"But you promised! You said that no matter how much work you had, you'd always be here for me," argued Mokuba.  
  
Seto's voice was unyielding. "I made that promise almost a decade ago. Back then I didn't know how much work I'd have. Listen, we'll go out for breakfast or something tomorrow."  
  
"I won't be able to sleep…" Mokuba pleaded, his eyes on the verge of tears, "Not tonight… Not without knowing that you won't leave me like Mom and Dad did."  
  
"Don't be stupid. You're too old for that. Just watch a movie and go to bed."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Good night, Mokuba."  
  
"… Good bye, Seto."  
  
The dial tone was deafening to Mokuba's ears. He threw the phone across the room.   
  
When he said "good-bye" to his brother, he didn't know that he was going to go insane. All he knew was that something had changed between him and Seto, and there was no turning back now.  
  
He crawled into bed, clothes still on, and fell into a fitful sleep.  
  
*  
  
The next morning, one of Seto's secretaries came in to inform Mokuba that, even though Mr. Kaiba regretted it greatly, he was still caught up in work and could not attend breakfast. However, her simple task turned into an emergency call.  
  
She entered Mokuba's room to find sitting in the corner, staring at the wall.   
  
"Mr. Mokuba, sir?" she asked kindly. He did not respond. She touched his shoulder to turn him around, but he quickly sank his teeth into her hand. She yelled in pain and back away from the boy. He was now facing her, but still curled up in the corner. His eyes were dull and lifeless.  
  
The secretary ran to the phone and dialed a doctor. "Please hurry. There's something terribly wrong Seto Kaiba's little brother!"  
  
The doctor didn't fare any better. She attempted to take Mokuba's temperature, but instead, the boy threw back his head a screamed. Eyes closed, mouth wide, the sound was an endless tormented wail. He continued for several minutes, no one daring to stop him.  
  
The doctor took a needle out of her bag and filled it with a clear liquid. She explained to the secretary, "This injection should sedate him."  
  
She couldn't even get close. Mokuba thrashed and bit her, too.  
  
"I think it's time to call his brother."  
  
At the news that Mokuba was in real, immediate danger, Seto Kaiba arrived immediately. He walked swiftly and defiantly into the lobby where the doctor was waiting. He demanded an explanation.  
  
The doctor spoke in a calm voice. "Considering the family history, it's not all that inconceivable-"  
  
"WHAT'S not all that inconceivable?!" Seto cut her off. He wanted to get straight to the point. In his mind, if Mokuba was in trouble, there was no sense in beating around the bush.  
  
The doctor tried again. "Gozaburo Kaiba committed suicide, so a similar defect may run in the family-"  
  
Kaiba took that bit of information the wrong way. "Mokuba took his own life?!"  
  
"No, Mr. Kaiba, please calm down. What I'm trying to say is that I've seen similar types of insanity. The kind your brother seems to be inhabiting may be easily fixed with professional observation. I suggest-"  
  
Seto cut her off once more with a forceful statement. "My brother is not insane."  
  
The doctor sighed. "Perhaps you should come with me."  
  
She led him into Mokuba's room where the boy was still curled up in the corner. His legs were folded up to his chest, and one of his arms was wrapped tightly around them. The other hand was clinging to the wall. His face was expressionless, but his dead eyes were wide.  
  
Seto stopped a foot away from his brother. "Stop this now, Mokuba. Your game's gone on long enough."  
  
Mokuba did not reply. He gave no indication that he'd even heard Seto.  
  
The older boy grabbed Mokuba's wrist, as if to forced him to stand. Mokuba screamed, and let go of the wall. With a fierce defiance he dug his nails into Seto's hand.  
  
"I'm not letting go, kid. Now get up!"  
  
Mokuba replaced his nails with teeth. He bit down with animal-like rage, his canine teeth drawing blood. Seto winced but still did not let go of him.  
  
Seto realized fully that something was seriously wrong with his brother. This was no tantrum or desperate plea for attention. Something was going on inside Mokuba's head.  
  
Seto let go of Mokuba's wrist and pulled his hand out from the boy's grasp. He ignored that fact that it was damp with spit and blood. Using both hands he gripped both sides of his brother's waist and picked him up. He held the boy out at arm's length.  
  
The doctor tried to object. "Mr. Kaiba-!"  
  
"My brother isn't going to get any better hiding in a corner," interjected Seto.  
  
Mokuba thrashed and kicked. His legs were not long enough to reach Seto, so he used his arms to attempt at physical injury. But this was to no avail. Seto carried him across to room and set him on the edge of his bed. Mokuba stopped moving. Once he was on the bed, he hunched over loosely, his arms lip at either side of him. His face pointed towards his lap, but his expression remained lifeless.  
  
Seto sighed. His turned to the doctor. "What can I do?"  
  
She prescribed multiple medications, gave him the numbers of some prestigious therapists for him to call, and suggested that he spend some real quality time with his brother. Seto scoffed at the last part, what did she know about it?  
  
Once the doctor left, it was just Seto and Mokuba alone in the room. Mokuba didn't seem to care. Seto kneeled down so that he and the boy were face-to-face. He cupped Mokuba's chin, half-expecting to be bit again, but every remnants of fight had left his brother. Mokuba didn't seem to have anything left in him. Seto searched his face, his eyes… When Pegasus had stripped Mokuba from his soul, the body was blank. Now it was different. Life still existed within Mokuba, but it was completely non-responsive. His mind had shut down, leaving the soul intact.  
  
"Perhaps dark powers have gotten to you again…" Seto told Mokuba softly. The boy didn't even blink. Seto pulled out his cellular phone and dialed a number.  
  
"President Kaiba speaking," he said swiftly. "I need you to 'invite' Yugi Mouto to the Kaiba Mansion immediately. …What? Of course when I say 'invite' I mean use any force necessary! Moron."  
  
Kaiba hung up and faced Mokuba again. With a sigh he kneeled in front of him once more. Seto picked up one of the medications the doctor had given him. The white pills clinked around innocently in their container. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to give one to the boy…  
  
But how to get him to take it? Seto could only think of one way. He silently withdrew a single pill from the bottle, and with uncharacteristic gentleness, used the other hand to grasp Mokuba's chin. At the base of his hand he could feel Mokuba's pulse, so steady, so frail…  
  
Pushing the thought aside he placed the pill between his middle and index fingers, opening Mokuba's mouth with the hand that cupped his chin. He raised Mokuba's head and slid the two fingers in his mouth cautiously. He dropped the pill when he came to the base of Mokuba's throat and withdrew his hand. Using both palms Seto held Mokuba's mouth closed at either side of his chin. Seto's eyes found Mokuba's, and he held the gaze, pouring his own blue eyes into the grey, uncaring ones. At last he felt Mokuba's throat relax under his hands, indicating that he had swallowed.   
  
Three more times Seto repeated the procedure, his eyes never leaving his brother's. Each time Seto's fingers enter his mouth, Mokuba's expression showed no remorse. Each time the fingers were withdrawn, his eyes showed no gratitude. There was no pain, no fear, no trust. Seto thought that he, too, might be driven insane by Mokuba's state.  
  
The phone rang. "Mr. Kaiba? Yugi Mouto is waiting in the lobby, sir."  
  
"Bring him to Mokuba's room," Seto commanded as he felt Mokuba's throat relax once more.   
  
Yugi entered, face solemn, Millenium Puzzle at his chest. Seto arose and straightened, his previously gentle manner turning all-business. He glided over to Yugi in large steps. He looked down at the shorter boy with indifferent eyes.  
  
"I must speak with the 'other Yugi.' The person you become when you duel," said the Kaiba Corp President. His tone suggested that it was not a request. Yugi was caught off guard and retreated a step.  
  
"What? Why?" he stammered.  
  
"I need to know if dark powers are the result of that-" he pointed a long finger at the limp Mokuba, "That- that *state* of my younger brother."  
  
Yugi looked at Mokuba, his expression softening. However, when he turned back to Seto his eyes became harsher, more defined. He jaw was set, and his physical actions were confident.  
  
"Let me take a look at him," Yugi said in a deeper voice that could only be Yami.  
  
The ancient pharaoh studied Mokuba's face for the longest time. The wordlessly fingered the boy's facial attributes, as if waiting for a reaction of any kind. When none came, Yami closed his eyes while the Millenium Puzzle glowed.  
  
Finally he opened his eyes and turned to Seto. "I sorry. If Mokuba's was under a Shadow spell or a Penalty game, it would have been released by my Millenium Puzzle. I'm afraid that this is not the work of magic, but something clinical inside Mokuba's head."  
  
This was not what Seto wanted to hear. He gruffly thanked Yugi for his time and bade him to go. At the door, Yami stopped as if a thought had suddenly struck him.  
  
"I may not be able to help Mokuba, but I know someone who can. I shall return," the pharaoh promised, then left. Seto shook his head, what did Yugi know? He was stupid to have called him in the first place, magic wasn't real, it was for losers. Power was all that mattered. All Seto believed he had to do was find the strength inside him to save Mokuba, or help Mokuba find his own power.  
  
Reality hit him like a wave. No amount of strength could cure this. Mokuba was mentally destroyed, and there was little he could do about it.   
  
Seto sank into the bed next to Mokuba. He pulled the boy into his lap and cradled him in his arms. Mokuba again offered no response, but his limp head rested on Seto's chest. Seto listened to their conflicting heartbeats; Seto's was strong and bold, Mokuba's was weak and timid. The room was completely silent, leaving too much time for thought.  
  
"This is quite a mess you've gotten us into, kid," Seto said to fill the silence. He sighed. "Don't you realize that if you don't eat we'll have to plug you into an IV? If that doesn't suit you and you refuse to breathe, I'll have to put you on life support. What kind of life is that, hooked up to a machine all day? I won't let you commit suicide, kid. No way in hell."  
  
Mokuba didn't move. He was emotionless flesh in Seto's arms, as if, in a way, he already HAD committed suicide. Seto brought his hand up through Mokuba's fine, raven-colored hair, resting it on the back of his head. He pushed Mokuba's head forward, resting it beneath his own chin. He breathed in his scent.  
  
"Come on, kid. You're stronger than this."  
  
The cell phone rang once more. Seto shifted his weight and answered it. Yugi was again in the lobby, this time with a guest. Seto granted them clearance.  
  
Instead of standing to make himself look professional, Seto remained where he was. He didn't give a damn anymore what Yugi thought. If Mokuba's life was a mere breath away from vanishing, Seto wanted to be holding him when he did so.  
  
Yami opened the large doors and entered, followed silently by the striking figure of Shadi. With him, Shadi carried the Millenium Key. The Egyptian servant walked unafraid up to Seto.  
  
"My name in Shadi," he introduced. He held forth his key of gold. "My item will allow me to look into the mind of your brother. If something is going on inside the soul of Mokuba Kaiba, I will be able to find it."  
  
Seto nodded and allowed Mokuba to be removed from his grasp. The boy's small frame was placed again on the edge of the bed, where Shadi unceremoniously placed his Millenium Key on his forehead. With one quick movement Shadi turned his wrist, turning the key, and he was still for a very long time.  
  
Seto shifted in his spot on the bed. "What's taking so long?" he demanded from the pharaoh.  
  
"Shadi is exploring Mokuba's mind. He'll come out when he finds what he is looking for," Yami explained. A moment after the words left his lips, Shadi pulled the Key away from Mokuba.  
  
"There is a dark room in the back of his soul," Shadi said, still looking at Mokuba. "He has locked himself in there. No amount of my coaxing can persuade him to come out."  
  
Seto waved his hand and forearm in a violent, dismissive manner. "I don't care if he doesn't WANT to come out! Go back in there and MAKE him come out!"  
  
Shadi pinned Seto down with his gaze. "I'm wonder, are you the being he most trusts in the world?"  
  
"Of course. I'm his older brother, I've always looked after him."  
  
Shadi turned back to Mokuba. "Then maybe… Maybe you can convince him to return to the world of the living." He took Seto's hand and held it so they were both grasping the Millenium Key. He placed it on Mokuba's forehead once more. "When I turn the key, your brother's mind will be unlocked for you. Find the darkest corner, Mokuba Kaiba will be waiting there. Keep in mind that he will not recognize you, he has no thoughts in there. Rather, he IS thought. He IS emotion. He will leave nothing hidden from you. Are you ready?"  
  
Seto nodded, and Shadi turned the key. A bright flash confronted Seto's eyes, followed by a myriad of spirals. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he found himself in the room of Mokuba's soul.  
  
*  
  
The room disgusted Seto at first. It was a mess of crayons, paints, coloring books; mostly art supplies. Duel Monsters posters covered the walls. However, mixed among the art were chess pieces. Rooks, kings, knights… They littered the floor. Seto walked defiantly, not bothering to be careful. He didn't have time to waste with Mokuba's toys.  
  
His foot came down on something that cracked like glass. Seto looked down and realized he'd stepped on a framed photograph. He picked it up. It showed the silhouette of a woman, and a man with darkened features. Though you could not see the woman at all, Seto could partially make out the man.  
  
"Who…?" he wondered out loud, then it struck him. The man was his father, his real father, the one Mokuba had known until he was three. Seto knew him up until age eight, but most of his memories had faded. Then the woman had to be their mother. Mokuba had never known her, she died shortly after his birth. The event had simply been too much for her body. Seto, age five, had known her briefly. Her hair was just like Mokuba's, her eyes like his own. That's all he really remembered. Shaking his head, Seto dropped the picture and continued his search.  
  
It didn't take long to find the dark door. It stood out from all the rest. He took a deep breath and opened it a crack, causing a sliver of light to fall on the shadowed floor. He opened it all the way and peered in.  
  
Mokuba was sitting at the wall opposite him, his back facing Seto. He seemed to be absorbed in something. He didn't say anything when Seto entered the room, rather continued to work on his unseen project.  
  
Seto entered the small room, no larger than a walk-in closet. He closed the door and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark. He then said quietly, "Mokuba?"  
  
"Yes?" the boy asked tonelessly. He didn't look at Seto. The elder Kaiba let out a sigh of relief. At least this Mokuba was responsive. "What do you want?"  
  
"I want you to stop this foolishness and come out of here," said Seto. His voice was honest, yet forceful.  
  
"Sorry. Like I told that other guy, I don't want to come out until I've finished," Mokuba replied.   
  
"Finished what?" asked Seto.  
  
Mokuba didn't answer for a moment. At last he said simply, "A gift for my brother."  
  
Seto grinned, forgetting Shadi's words that Mokuba would not recognize him. "Your brother? Anyone I know?"  
  
"Probably not," Mokuba said, still not looking at him. "My brother's pretty busy and doesn't meet with very many people. I- AHH!" Mokuba cut himself off with a scream of rage. There was a ripping sound and he threw a crumpled piece of paper to his side, where it landed among many other balls of paper. Curiosity getting the better of him, Seto walked over and picked up the newest addition to the pile. He unfolded it and gasped at what he saw.  
  
It was a beautiful picture of a dragon drawn in blue. Even though it was half-finished, Seto could tell what the desired effect was.  
  
"You're trying to draw a Blue Eyes White Dragon for your brother!" Seto proclaimed. He looked at Mokuba, and now that he could see him from the side, he saw that he was hunched over a sketchbook, blue crayon in hand. He was etching away furiously at his newest dragon. Seto spoke again. "But this one is so good. Why destroy it?"  
  
"It's stupid," Mokuba said fiercely. However, the words were not an assault towards Seto, rather a punishment at his own work. "It's all wrong. My brother would hate it."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"Because," said Mokuba like a statement. He was then silent, still drawing, as if trying to figure out the reason for himself. "Just because. I guess… because it isn't perfection. My gift has to be perfect for Seto to like it."  
  
"I don't believe that. I believe that your brother would like anything that you made for him."  
  
"Shut up! What do you know? How many times has my brother told me that a loser dies? To rely on myself? If I was to enter that piece into an art show, there's no way it would win. That's what my brother expects from me. He wants a winner for a brother, not someone with a clinging loser's gaze."  
  
Seto cringed at his own words. He couldn't believe that he used to be so harsh. Seto had always thought as Mokuba as a smaller version of himself, strong-hearted, strong-willed. He, in an ironic attempt to protect him, had forgotten that Mokuba was a full five years younger. Any hardship that Seto had faced, Mokuba faced five years less mature. Seto set the drawing on the floor and thought back to the photograph in the larger room.  
  
"You know," Seto said conversationally, "I never knew my mother."  
  
Mokuba stopped drawing.  
  
"Me neither," he said weakly. "I can't even imagine what she looked like. I have no pictures, no records… And I can barely remember my father."  
  
Seto sat with his back against the wall Mokuba was facing. "I remember my father. He had eyes just like yours. Grey, dark blue when the light was right… Eyes that were the windows to his soul." Mokuba looked down at his dragon picture, unblinking. "I remember my mother a little. Her eyes were like mine, a piercing blue. But her hair…" Seto ran one finger down Mokuba's raven tresses. "Her hair was totally, completely yours."  
  
Mokuba looked up at the wall. Seto jumped as it became alive with moving pictures, like a wall-sized TV screen. Seto sat on his knees and faced it. The wall showed him images from their time at the orphanage.   
  
"My parents died, too," Mokuba said softly. "Me and my brother had to stay at an orphanage. The second day we got there, the nurse took me into her office."  
  
The moving pictures showed the smaller Mokuba sitting on the nurse's table. The nurse had scissors in her hands.  
  
"She didn't think it was proper for boys to have such long hair…" Mokuba narrated. Seto was captured by the screen. The nurse moved closer to Mokuba, and took a lock of his hair into her greedy fist. The young Mokuba closed his eyes, and a tear slipped down his cheek. Suddenly, the door burst open and a smaller Seto ran it.  
  
"My brother saved me," Mokuba whispered. The Seto on the wall screamed at the nurse. "He told her that she couldn't cut my hair, that it reminded him of our mother. He said that when he looked at me… That when he looked at me everything was okay, because Mom was living through me…"  
  
The wall became dark again. Mokuba went back to his drawing. After a moment, Seto tried again to talk to him.  
  
"The orphanage must have been terrible," he commented.  
  
"Not really. I didn't mind. My brother taught me chess. Things didn't get bad until…" The wall became alive again. Gozaburo Kaiba looked down at them, grinning maliciously. "My Stepfather was awful. I hated him. He may have been the only one to adopt both me and my brother, but… I still hated him."  
  
Seto scooted closer to Mokuba and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You were a little boy. No one can blame you for being afraid of such a monster."  
  
"His cruelty wasn't the worst of it," said Mokuba, looking up again. Seto was entranced as the wall showed himself yelling at Mokuba, throwing Mokuba to the floor. "He turned my brother against me. When I cried, my brother only wanted me to get stronger. Gozaburo made my brother hate me."  
  
"I… Your brother could never hate you!" Seto assured. The wall returned to normal once more.  
  
"But he did!" Mokuba insisted. He tore the picture from the sketchbook and crumpled it. Throwing it aside he inched away from Seto, crawling backwards, eyes wide in fear. "He put me through… Through…"  
  
Seto looked behind him. Horrible monsters that Seto recognized were making their way towards Mokuba. They were the monsters from his "Experience of Death" game. Seto remembered that in a fit of rage he had locked Mokuba in a duel box with those terrible monsters. Mokuba had screamed and cried, and it was Yugi who pulled him out of it.  
  
"My brother put me through death…"  
  
Mokuba hit the opposite wall and cowered there, the monsters almost at his toes. He buried his head in his hands, clutching the sketchbook to his chest, and the monsters vanished. Seto approached Mokuba once more.  
  
"Your brother regrets that more than anything in the world," he said softly. "He was angry at the time. So angry that he thought bloodlust was the only way to end his anger. Your brother wishes he could take it all back, make up for lost time."  
  
Mokuba sniffed. "He called me a loser. Said that there was no such thing as brotherly love. He used me. He took my 2 percent of Kaiba Corp to take control of it fully. I wanted him to have it, I wanted him to be happy. But he became consumed with winning, he became consumed with running the company. He made me Vice-President. He wanted me to be involved. But it was all lies. His work is more important than me."  
  
"That's not true…" Seto tried to say, but his voice was unconvincing. "Your brother has saved you many times, fought for you, protected you…"  
  
Mokuba looked over Seto's shoulder. Seto turned to see what he was staring at. The screen-like wall was showing them things again. This time more recent memories came forward. A green-haired boy barely taller than Mokuba smiled on the screen and laughed soundlessly.  
  
"My brother tried to protect me…" Mokuba narrated again. "But there were some things he couldn't save me from. Things like Noah."  
  
Noah stared at the Mokuba in the memory, his eyes glowing red, brainwashing the small boy in a revenge attempt at Seto. Then they saw Mokuba defending Noah, calling Seto a stranger, causing Seto to lose the duel with a green-haired demon.  
  
Mokuba continued. "Noah made me think that my brother did not exist. He took away my memories and replaced them with new ones. I truly, honestly thought that Noah was my brother. I loved him, completely and totally. I felt his love for me. I hated my real brother, I felt the hatred run deep through my heart. I guess I was speaking my true anger about his past actions towards me, but I had no clue who he was. With Yugi's help my real brother finally shattered that reality, leaving me to pick up the pieces." Mokuba drew his knees up to his chest and buried his face in his arms. His shoulders shook as he cried silently. Noah disappeared from the wall.   
  
This has gone on long enough, Seto told himself. He sat down cross-legged in front of Mokuba and wrapped his fingers around Mokuba's wrist.  
  
"Come here, Mokuba."  
  
"NO!" the boy shouted, tears still running down his face. He jerked away violently. Seto grabbed him again.  
  
"I said, come here."  
  
"NO!"  
  
"COME HERE!" Seto shouted back. Mokuba cringed and went limp, sniffing as he tried to stop his tears. Seto inwardly cursed him. Why did he let himself yell at the emotionally troubled boy?  
  
Mokuba allowed himself to be taken into Seto's lap, quite like Seto had done in the real world.   
  
"It's okay… Let it all out," Seto encouraged.  
  
"It's not okay," Mokuba said, trying to wipe the salty water from his face. "My brother told me not to cry."  
  
"Well, I've changed my mind," Seto said. He was sick of using the phrase, 'your brother.' "Sometimes it's alright to shed some pure, much-needed tears."  
  
"How do YOU know?" Mokuba asked, defiant even in his sorrow.  
  
"How do I know? I know because we're brothers, Mokuba. We're brothers and nothing in the universe can change that. Not unkind words, not anything." He drew the smaller boy close. "I'll love you forever, little brother. My love will always be."  
  
Mokuba grasped Seto's shirt tightly. "Brother…?" he whispered. He rubbed his face into the soft fabric. "You are my brother…"  
  
Seto let the boy cry himself out. His shirt became soaked with tears, but he didn't care. He rubbed Mokuba's back, not really knowing what to do to bring emotional comfort.  
  
When the last of Mokuba's tears were shed, Seto asked him quietly, "Are you ready to leave this cramped place?"  
  
Mokuba fingered the sketchbook, looking at it with longing. "I… I have to finish my gift for you…"  
  
Seto clasped his larger hand around Mokuba's, holding the blue crayon. "We'll finish it together."  
  
Silently, the two drew the outline of the dragon. First the head, then the wings, the body, the tail… Then they gave it detail. Scales, lines… A dangerous burst of white lightning escaping from its mouth. Then they gave him eyes, blue and cold like Seto's, but large and emotional like Mokuba's.   
  
Mokuba tore it out of the book, but this time to save it rather than destroy it. Seto placed the artwork in his pocket. The two boys stood.  
  
"Seto, I'm not sure if I… If I have the strength to leave," Mokuba admitted as they stood in front of the door.  
  
Seto smiled. "You're strong. Together, we can do it."  
  
Their fingers entwined as Seto turned the door handle, and he led Mokuba into the blinding light.  
  
*  
  
It was a week later than Seto came to wonder if insanity can save a person, save a family.  
  
Things had gone back to pretty much the same, except better. If Mokuba called the office, Seto learned to actually listen to him and put work aside. He was more careful about the words he used around Mokuba, for some truths about the world Mokuba was not ready to handle yet. All this caused Seto to wonder if Mokuba's temporary insanity had actually saved them; saved them from suicide or the eventual hatred of one another.  
  
The only flaw in Seto's curiosity was that he never confronted Mokuba with his hypothesis. If he had Mokuba would have told him the truth, that it wasn't insanity that had saved them. It was love. A love that they shared, unique to their relationship, something unspoken and unconditional between them. Mokuba had figured that much out, he could only assume that the much wiser Seto had, too.  
  
Besides, in Mokuba's mind, he figured that he never really could lose his sanity. He loved Seto, he loved his brother with all his might. That love was sanity in itself, so how could he ever lose it?  
  
*  
  
The End 


End file.
